Chestnut figures: 5 ideas for crafting

With chestnut figures we bring a piece of nature and autumn into the house. We'll show you five great craft ideas including instructions.

For all small and large hobbyists, autumn offers a lot of natural materials with which great handicrafts can be made. We present five ideas on how you can make decorative figures out of chestnuts.

The basics for chestnut figures

These are the basic materials you need for crafting:

  • Chestnuts
  • Hand drill
  • Toothpicks / matches
  • Glue / hot glue gun

5 craft ideas for chestnut figures

1. A snake made of chestnuts

© matunka / Shutterstock

Additional tools:

  • needle and thread
  • matches
  • Permanent marker

Depending on how long you want the line to be, you will need 6 or more chestnuts. That's how it's done:

  1. Pierce all the chestnuts that belong to the body with the hand drill.
  2. Now thread them all up with a needle and thread. Make a knot at each end so that the fruits don't slide down again.
  3. For the head you drill a hole in another chestnut, but not all the way through, but only so far that you can insert a toothpick. For the first chestnut of the snake's body, you also drill a small hole for the toothpick on the upper side.
  4. Use the marker to draw a face on the chestnut.
  5. Put the chestnut head on a toothpick and connect this to the body by inserting the other end of the poke into it. Shorten the toothpick if it is too long.

2. Chestnut figure of elk

© Valeria Vechterova / Shutterstock

Additional tools:

  • Acorn lid
  • 2 sheets
  • Googly eyes

That's how it's done:

  1. In one of the two chestnuts you need, you drill four small holes on the underside and one on the upper side.
  2. Now put a match in each hole, the bottom four will then become the elk's legs.
  3. Also drill a hole in the second chestnut on the lower side. Put this on the body.
  4. Glue the eyes on the head in the middle of the area and the glans cover at the bottom.
  5. Finally, you attach the two sheets to the back of the head with glue.

3. Chestnut tree

© Ramona Heim / Shutterstock

Additional tools:

  • any number of acorn caps with handle
  • Wooden slouch skewer (alternatively solid craft wire)

That's how it's done:

  1. Start at the bottom: Drill three holes on the sides of a chestnut and one on top. The holes should not be continuous!
  2. Now you drill a hole on each side in three more chestnuts.
  3. Then you connect the three chestnuts with the other chestnut (see step 1) with a toothpick adapted to the size of each. This gives the tree stability.
  4. Pierce four more chestnuts with the hand drill so that the kebab skewer fits through. Run the kebab skewer through everyone.
  5. Another chestnut gets a hole for the kebab skewer – here again: do not pierce completely.
  6. Drill many small, narrow holes and insert the stems with the acorn caps.
  7. Now put the chestnut on the chestnut trunk.

4. Chestnut hare

© Lobroart / Shutterstock

Additional tools:

  • Acorn lid
  • Googly eyes
  • Maple fruit

That's how it's done:

  1. Drill a hole in two chestnuts each.
  2. Connect the two with a toothpick.
  3. Glue the googly eyes to the front of the upper chestnut and the maple fruit to the back.
  4. The acorn lid is glued to the back of the lower chestnut.

5. Chestnut beetles

© katarinag / Shutterstock

Additional tools:

  • 4 acorn lids
  • Googly eyes
  • Chestnut peel
  • 2 rowan berries

That's how it's done:

  1. Drill a hole in two chestnuts each.
  2. Connect the two together with a toothpick.
  3. In the upper chestnut, drill two holes next to each other on the upper side.
  4. Put the rowan berries on two short toothpicks and put them in the two holes on the upper side.
  5. Glue the googly eyes into the acorn lid and these in turn onto the front of the upper chestnut.
  6. For the wings, break apart the fruit peel and glue one half to the sides of the lower chestnut.
  7. Last but not least, the feet: Glue two acorn lids side by side to the underside of the lower chestnut.

Here you can find more ideas for crafting with leaves, crafting with wood and crafting with plaster of paris.

You can also find lots of great inspiration in the Brigitte Community!

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